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Thursday, May 16, 2013

THE LAEVIGATA SECTION - Iris Laevigata

Some Lesser Known
Irises

PART IV

THE LAEVIGATA SECTION

By Miss J. Burgess, Waikanae.

THE NEW ZEALAND SMALLHOLDER, May 16th, 1935.

The laevigata section of irises embraces the
well known Japanese or Kaempferi hybrids. These hybrids have all
been obtained from the single species Kaempferi, one of the four
true species which comprise the group. Although essentially
water lovers, the laevigatas, in common with all other irises,
and with the sole exception of pseudacorus, dislike a badly
drained soil.
Much confusion has existed between laevigata and Kaempferi,
since they were first known to the European botanists a century
ago. This is due to the fact that both species come from the
same districts. They are found in swampy places near Lake
Baikal, and along the banks of the River Amur. Thence, they
occur eastwards through Manchuria, Northern China, to Korea and
Japan. I wish to make it clear that where I write of Kaempferi,
the reference is to the species Kaempferi, the source from which
the Japanese have obtained their marvellous, but, I fear, rather
monstrous, hybrids. By what means they have succeeded in
modifying the wild type, and obtaining those huge double freak
flowers, is a mystery. From the fact that they have obtained a
double form of laevigata as well, we are forced to conclude that
it was not merely a natural chance freak which gave them their
first break, but a carefully guarded horticultural secret. And
no part of the world, and in no section of the genus, has nature
evolved for herself this form of freak flower. The double
laevigata and the double Kaempferi of the Japanese are the only
double irises in existence. In passing, it is interesting to
note that the Japanese have done the same by the chrysanthemum
and the cherry. But nature receipts the interference of these
Oriental hybridists, and if their double hybrids are allowed to
naturalise and seed, in a few generations the seedlings will
throw back to the type of the wild species. Though first
discovered to the Occident in 1837, the true laevigata is still
uncommon in English gardens, and it is almost unknown here. This
is no doubt due to the fact that until fairly recently it was
taken to be synonymous with Kaempferi. Laevigata is chiefly
distinguished from Kaempferi by the characteristic, which earned
for it the name laevigata, which means "smoothed". The tall,
sword shaped leaves are quite smooth, differing therein from
Kaempferi, which carries down each leaf a distinct ribbing, or
ridged veining. The colour of laevigata is a deep, rich blue, of
a shade not seen in any other Iris. The standards are upright,
and the falls tongue like, long and drooping.

There is a garden
form of the type under the name L. albopurpurea, having, as the
name suggests, white and blue flowers. The standards and style
arms are white, and the falls are white heavily mottled with
blue. Strangely enough, this quasi-albino characteristic acts as
a Mendellian recessive, and albopurpurea breeds quite true to
colour. In recent years there has been on the market and Iris,
which is called laevigata 'Rose Queen'. This is apparently a
hybrid between laevigata and Kaempferi , as although the shape
of the flower is like laevigata, the leaves posses the ridged
veining of Kaempferi. The colour of Rose Queen is an even tone
of Peach Blossom or rose pink. It is easily grown, and very
effective when massed.
The cultivation of laevigata is quite simple. Like all the
group, it dislikes lime, but can be grown successfully in any
good garden soil, provided that it is not allowed to dry out
during the summer months.
Kaempferi, as mentioned, comes from the same districts of
Northern and Eastern Asia as does laevigata. It was first noted
by a Western botanists as a species in 1858, but has been in
cultivation in Japanese gardens for centuries. The shape of the
flowers is somewhat similar to laevigata, but the standards are
not so tall, and the falls are perhaps a little broader. The
colour is a rich, deep purple, relieved on the half of the fall
by a narrow stripe of Golden yellow. There is also a white form.
Cultivation is the same as for laevigata, but the Japanese
hybrids require more attention. These latter should be given
plenty of manure, preferably well rotted garden compost or
animal manure, which is best applied during winter when growth
is inactive.
Pseudacorus, the English 'Water Flag' is botanically classed in
the laevigata section. This act is surprising to the casual
observer, but careful examination of the plants will discover
many liberties with the species laevigata and Kaempferi.
Pseudacorus, is too well known to come within the scope of this
series of articles, but, I might mention in passing, that it is
well worth the attention of any Gardener with plenty of
"background" space, and it will grow anywhere, though it does
best in a rich, moist soil. Its natural habitat is over the
whole of Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. The flowers are
bright yellow, varying considerably in colour, size, and height,
as would be expected where distribution is over so wide an area.
There is an American representative of the section in versicolor
(syn. Virginica). This is the American "Water Flag," and
although quite different from Pseudacorus, it has much in common
with that species. Versicolor grows wild from Hudson Bay in the
North to the Gulf of Mexico in the South. The usual colour is a
pale blue purple, though there is a natural red-purple form
called kermesina. Both are very desirable waterside subjects,
and at easy to grow. Culture is the same as for other members of
the section - a damp, lime free soil, rich in humus.
Botanical affinities between the four species of the laevigata
section suggests that inter-crossing should not be a difficult
matter, but with the possible exception of Rose Queen, no hybrid
is known. In inter-crossing it is necessary to de-antherise the
seed bearer as soon as the flower opens, as the flowers of all
the members of the section are so constructed that self
fertilisation is naturally effected.

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger,
higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man".

George Bernard Shaw

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